


Pirates and Firemen

by carissima



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Halloween, M/M, Not scary at all, Prompt Fill, Sorry Not Sorry, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-31
Updated: 2013-10-31
Packaged: 2017-12-30 23:35:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1024722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carissima/pseuds/carissima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Our costumes for Niall's mates cousins Halloween party have to stay a secret from each other," Louis says, reaching over to sneak his hand into Harry's bag and triumphantly extracting a packet of crisps and ripping them open over Harry's empty protests. "All agreed?"</p><p>Niall nods, Harry shrugs and Liam just looks worried.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pirates and Firemen

**Author's Note:**

> For this prompt: how about a Halloween story with liam and harry wearing costumes that hide their identities. And then you come up with the rest.
> 
> ... so I did. Voila!

Liam looks up as Louis throws his bag down onto the seat next to Liam from where he's sitting in the sixth form common room and perches on the table, picking up the essay Liam's reading through and staring at it as if it were dangerous.

"Do you mind?" Liam asks mildly as he holds out his hand to reclaim his essay.

"Not really," Louis answers as he passes it back. "I can copy, yeah?"

Liam's used to Louis stealing his homework. He knows Louis also gives it to Zayn, Harry and Niall to 'borrow' as well and that's just the way their group dynamic works. He doesn't mind, but he knows it's kind of his responsibility to finish his homework early so that the others can copy it.

"So Niall's mate's cousin is throwing a Halloween party at the weekend and we're all invited," Louis says, stuffing Liam's carefully crafted essay into his bag, ignoring Liam's wince and vague protest. "So we're going and you're drinking and I'm not having it any other way so you might as well give in now."

Liam just stares at him. Louis knows he doesn't really drink, even though he got the all clear three months ago for a miraculously healed kidney. Liam's spent most of his teenage drinking years (they've been hitting house parties for the past three years and alcohol has been present at each and every one) avoiding alcohol because of his kidney issue so he's kind of just used to not drinking now. He much prefers staying sober so he can make sure everyone gets home okay. Being responsible is just another one of his roles in their group.

Louis just raises an eyebrow and stares back.

They're still going when Niall shoves Louis' bag to the ground and throws himself into the chair.

"What's up?"

"Liam is coming to that Halloween party you were talking about and he's going to drink whether he likes it or not," Louis says, smiling sweetly at Liam.

Liam sighs and throws his hands up in defeat. He knows he can't outlast Louis because Louis Tomlinson is the most stubborn, competitive, pig-headed person Liam's ever met. "Fine."

Louis cheers in delight as he leans over to punch Liam's arm.

Liam just rubs at probably-bruised area absently as he watches Louis and Niall high-five in excitement.

"Is everyone going then?" Liam asks as he leans back in his chair and closes his eyes. He's tired from school and boxing and his part-time job at the cafe and all he wants to do is go home and fall into bed for the next three days.

"Yeah," Niall says absently. "You got the history homework?"

"Louis has it," Liam says irritably. "Do we have to wear costumes?"

"Absolutely," Louis says in mock horror as if the thought of not wearing costumes is morally abhorrent.

"What are you going as?" Liam asks as he has a mild panic attack about dressing up. He's always had a fear of turning up to a costume party only to find he's the only one in costume. It's a reoccurring nightmare he has around this time of year.

"Oh no, that's a secret, Payno," Louis says with a wicked grin. "No telling each other what our costumes are. That's a definite rule."

"What's a rule?" Harry asks with a yawn as he pushes Louis aside and sits next to him, leaning his head on Louis' shoulder and closing his eyes sleepily.

"Our costumes for Niall's mates cousins Halloween party have to stay a secret from each other," Louis says, reaching over to sneak his hand into Harry's bag and triumphantly extracting a packet of crisps and ripping them open over Harry's empty protests. "All agreed?"

Niall nods, Harry shrugs and Liam just looks worried. He wonders if he can talk Zayn into telling him what he's planning to wear and whether he can swing by Zayn's before the party to make sure Zayn's in costume before they leave.

"Hey Liam, have you got the history essay?" Harry lifts his head and opens his eyes to fix his gaze on Liam.

"Louis has it," Liam says a little shortly because he's the third one of them to ask and what if Liam hadn't done the work? Where would they all be then? Annoyed and worked up over the whole costume debacle, Liam grabs his bag and stomps out of the common room, vaguely wondering if Zayn will be in the art department so he can sound him out about his worries. Liam knows that Zayn would understand Liam's panic without Liam needing to spell it out to him.

"Hey! Liam!"

Liam hears Harry calling for him and he stops with a ragged sigh before turning around to find Harry sliding to an abrupt stop in front of him. Liam automatically reaches out to steady him because Harry has a habit of being as graceful as a baby deer on ice and his hands close around Harry just in time to stop Harry falling forward onto him.

"Thanks," Harry beams up at him as he steadies himself. "Uh, are you mad at me?"

Liam wishes he could be mad at Harry. Wishes he could get mad and stay mad at the stupid, painfully beautiful boy staring at him with pretty green eyes framed by long eyelashes. With his lovely red lips and those dimples that drive Liam crazy. And those long limbs of his that Liam has a massive issue with because he dreams about them wrapping around him, Harry's long arms around his neck and his long legs around his hips and his stupid curly hair that Harry's constantly flipping and shaking and messing with. Yeah, Liam wishes he could be mad at Harry because he's tired from constantly pretending that he doesn't stare at him when he thinks no one's looking and just so tired of wanting something that he can't have.

But back to the question. "No Harry, I'm not mad at you," Liam somehow raises a smile and looks somewhere just over Harry's shoulder, a defence mechanism he developed about a year ago when he realised that his feelings for Harry weren't quite the same as those he had for his other friends.

"Sure?" Harry asks again, tilting his head slightly and studying Liam carefully. "Because you seemed pretty mad back there."

"No, it's fine, really," Liam reassures him. "I just get annoyed sometimes when you all just assume that I've done the homework and you assume that I don't mind you all copying it every week."

"Oh," Harry says with a small frown. "You mind then?"

"... no," he says and he watches Harry's frown deepen. "Not exactly. I guess I just mind the assumption."

Harry just looks confused so Liam drops the entire subject because he finds Harry absolutely, stupidly adorable when he's confused and that's not constructive at all. "Anyway, I'm going to go find Zayn."

"Yeah okay," Harry steps back and Liam's hands drop back to his sides as he realises he's been holding onto Harry's arms the entire time. "So you're not definitely mad?"

"No, Harry, I promise I'm not mad." Liam smiles once more, looking in Harry's general direction before spinning around and heading down the corridor as fast as he can manage without breaking into a run.

He arrives a little breathless in the art rooms and it has nothing to do with his fast walk. He tries to control his breathing as he looks around for Zayn, finally spotting him lying down between desks, sketching in his pad. Liam drops down beside him, deliberately not looking at what Zayn's working on. He knows Zayn hates when they do that before he's ready to show anyone and Liam understands that.

"What's up?" Zayn asks as he glances up at Liam.

"Not much," Liam lies but Zayn's raised eyebrow has him confessing. At least, confessing to one problem. "Have you heard Louis' great idea for this Halloween party we're meant to go to?"

"Ah. You don't want to dress up?"

This is why Liam loves Zayn. Zayn understands. Zayn listens and reads between the lines. Sometimes, Liam even thinks that Zayn knows Liam better than Liam knows himself. Which is why when Liam just shrugs and avoids eye contact, Zayn reaches out to pat his knee.

"I think I'll go as The Joker, from Batman," Zayn says casually and Liam wants to grab his face and kiss him in relief, but he doesn't. He settles for grinning happily and thinking about what he can go as.

"Can I go as Batman?" he asks Zayn hopefully.

"Louis might think we planned it if you do," Zayn points out reasonably. "What about ... I don't know, a fireman?"

"Yeah, I could probably go as a fireman." Liam considers the idea, thinks it's a fairly sensible option, he just needs to rent the jacket and trousers and hat. "You want to go to the costume shop on the way home?"

"Sounds good," Zayn murmurs as his brow wrinkles. Liam sees he's back to concentrating on whatever he's drawing, so he simply places his hand on Zayn's shoulder, gives it a squeeze to say thank you and leaves him to it.

Liam finds Zayn waiting for him at the school gate after school. He hands over Liam's history essay and Liam sighs in relief as he tucks it carefully into his bag.

As they walk into town and head for the costume shop, Liam chats aimlessly about how much homework he has to do and what Zayn thinks the others will dress up as for the party and how he should really apologise to Harry for being moody with him. But mostly he complains about how he doesn't want to drink at the party.

"Might help you loosen up a little," Zayn says quietly as they enter the shop.

Liam blinks, hurt. He thought Zayn understood. He can't drink around Harry, he's bound to say something stupid that will reveal his true feelings and he'll never be able to look at Harry again, because Harry will just look at him with those stupid green eyes of his and pity him. "That's what I'm afraid of," he mutters under his breath.

Zayn takes two minutes to find a Joker costume and he's trying to choose the right face paints to complete the look while Liam tries to find a fireman costume. He finally finds one, but it's a little on the small side and he'll have to wear something under the jacket because it doesn't quite fit him around the shoulders.

"You can wear a shirt underneath and leave it undone," Zayn says as Liam tries on the jacket over his top and can't quite get the buttons to meet. "All that boxing and running has really filled you out."

Liam flushes. He's never been comfortable with compliments and while he knows his body is changing and developing with muscles that he's really proud of, it's still nice that it's being noticed, even if it's by the wrong boy, in Liam's opinion.

When Liam gets home, he throws the costume into the corner and tries to forget about the party. He knows it's going to be torturous but it's just a party, he tells himself as he settles down to concentrate on his English assignment.

By the end of the week, Liam's exhausted. He's worked three shifts at the café to make up for taking time off at the weekend at Louis' insistence so that he doesn't have to worry about being tired at the party or about waking up for a shift the next day. He's barely spoken to anyone because his free time is taken up doing homework so he's been in the library for most of his lunch breaks and free periods.

He hands his French homework over to Louis on Friday morning, surprised to get it back by the end of second period because normally it takes them much longer to copy it.

He finally has a free lunch break so he collapses into a chair next to Niall and slumps forward, closing his eyes as he rests his head against his arms on the table.

After a few minutes of blissful silence, Liam feels Niall's hands running through his hair and he lets out a little moan of appreciation.

"You push yourself too hard, Li."

Liam's head jerks up and he blinks quickly as he sees Harry take a step back and his hand, which had just been buried in Liam's hair, drop to his side.

"Oh," Liam manages to say as he just stares at Harry. "Uh, right. Sorry."

"It'll be worth it when we're at the party though, Liam? Yeah?" Niall elbows him gently and grins at him. "You'll have the best time tomorrow and you can even enjoy your hangover in peace without having to get anyone coffee."

"Can't wait," Liam says weakly as he drops his gaze to the table. "Uh, I just remembered I have some homework to do. I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Yeah. See you later," Harry says quietly as Liam gathers his stuff and races out of the room.

Liam's beyond relieved when he turns up at Zayn's house on Saturday night to find Zayn dressed up as The Joker in an astonishingly good likeness, which Liam puts down to the face paint. When Zayn sees Liam, he wolf-whistles which has Liam blushing furiously but he can kind of see where Zayn is coming from. He didn't realise just how much of his body he'd be flaunting in this outfit. He couldn't find any t-shirts and he'd been running late, mostly because he'd been panicking about the whole party still, and he'd had to put on a white vest, which clung to his body and kind of outlined his developing abdominal muscles in the right light. The jacket was also much tighter than he remembered and it was almost straining underneath Liam's muscles, which just added to Liam's discomfort.

"Hang on," Zayn says with a considering look before he races upstairs. He's back within seconds with his face paint and Liam frowns as Zayn grabs a brush and starts mixing. He just closes his eyes when Zayn lifts the brush and lets him get on with it. Liam knows there's no point arguing, they've been friends for far too long and he knows when he can talk Zayn out of something and when he can't.

When Zayn finally move back, Liam glances in the mirror and realises that Zayn's given him some black smudges that make it look like he's been in a real fire. He grins at Zayn and offers his hand in a high-five, which Zayn returns before they head out.

Niall's mates cousin has a free house and someone's gone to town on the decoration. There are fake cobwebs, strobe lights, hanging dummies dressed like ghosts and witches and zombies everywhere. It's just really dark, Liam thinks as he and Zayn push their way through the swarms of people inside. With everyone dressed up and since they've stuck to Louis' rule of not revealing their costumes to each other, for the most part, Liam doesn't even know where to start looking for the other boys.

Zayn guides him to the kitchen where they both pick up beers. Liam has to tip his hat back a bit to drink his and Zayn worries about smudging his face paint until Liam points out that smudged makeup actually works for The Joker. They're on the third beer before Niall is bounding up to them, dressed as a basketball player and grinning happily.

"Cool costume, Zayn," Niall says with approval as he reaches out to touch Zayn's face, his hand being stopped just in time with Zayn's hand wrapped around Niall's wrist. "Okay! Okay, I won't touch! And who's this sexy fireman with you? Oh it's Liam! Liam, you hunk you!"

Liam rolls his eyes because Niall's already drunk and he's buzzing himself quite nicely. "Have you seen the others?"

"Not yet," Niall whispers conspiratorially. "But I'm keeping my eyes peeled."

"Sure you are," Zayn murmurs with his own eye roll but soon Zayn and Niall are trying to out-drink each other so Liam leaves them to it and heads into the throng of people to see if he can find Louis.

He finds himself face-to-face with Where's Wally before he takes a closer look and lets out a loud laugh. "Louis! Great costume!"

"Who is this beautiful, strapping young fireman I see?" Louis peers closer, reaching up to tip back Liam's hat before his eyes widen in appreciation. "LIAM PAYNE!"

Liam finds himself with an armful of Louis. "Liam Payne, my bestest friend in the whole wide world. You look damn sexy. Where's everyone else?"

"In the kitchen," Liam waves in the general direction.

"And have you been drinking?" At Liam's nod, Louis grins happily. "And are you having a fabulous time?"

Liam laughs and reaches up to twist Louis' glasses so they're wonky on his face. Louis doesn't correct them. "I am. Thanks for making me come Lou. And forcing me to stop working and chill out."

"You were in serious need of relaxation, Payno," Louis declares. "And I am the master of laziness. Let's get drunk!"

Within an hour, Liam is definitely feeling the effects of alcohol and he stumbles outside for some fresh air. He immediately feels a bit sober as he breathes in deeply and he decides to sit down on the garden bench and just enjoy a bit of peace and quiet for a second before heading back in.

Except he's interrupted by a pirate.

"Hello!"

Liam freezes because he knows that voice. It's Harry.

"Hello?"

Liam forces himself to look up and he can't stifle a smile as he sees Harry in full pirate costume. His shirt is so tight that it's undone practically to his bellybutton. Liam tries not to stare. He's got an eye-patch, a hat that's sitting at a jaunty angle on Harry's head and he's wearing tight skinny jeans with some kind of knee-high boots that should look ridiculous but instead Liam thinks he looks beautiful, like he was born in the wrong time or something. Liam's not sure, but he thinks Harry' might have eyeliner on as well.

"Great costume," Liam tells him quietly.

"Thanks," Harry glances down at himself before he frowns and tries to move his eye-patch but fails. "Stupid eye patch. Can't see a thing with it on but I don't want to take it off because it really completes the outfit, you know?"

"Yeah, it's a dilemma," Liam agrees with a fond smile. It could only ever be a dilemma for Harry. He kind of hopes Harry will step back inside and leave him to his stupid thoughts, but Harry stumbles down the steps, just as Liam reaches out a hand to help him because the boy seriously has no coordination whatsoever, until Harry flops down next to him.

"Thank you Mr. Fireman," Harry says cheerily and as Liam peers at him, he suddenly realises that Harry doesn't recognise him.

Which is basically the story of Liam's life with Harry. They've been friends since they were eleven and ended up in the same classes at school. The same time he's known Louis and Niall. Zayn he knew before from primary school. But in all the years they've known each other, Liam and Harry have been friends but not really that close, always on the periphery of friendship and Liam is pretty sure that the reason on his part is because he kind of sort of really loves Harry. But Harry's never paid Liam much attention, and that's fine because Liam's perfectly happy to have a crush on Harry from slightly afar. In fact, he encourages it because there's no way he could deal with Harry any closer than he already is.

"You look like a sexy fireman," Harry says in a slightly huskier voice and Liam shivers. He knows it's just because Harry doesn't recognise him, but it's been over a year since Liam realised how he felt about Harry and it hasn't gotten any easier, so perhaps he'll allow himself this one conversation, this one flirtation while Harry's too drunk to remember, before going back to school on Monday and resuming their friendship at a distance.

"Yeah?" Liam says and lets his smile filter through to his voice.

"Yeah," Harry says, leaning forward slightly and putting his hand lightly on Liam's knee. "You're supposed to say that I'm a sexy pirate now."

Liam feels his heart falter in his chest. There's no mistaking the fact that Harry Styles is flirting with him. "You're a sexy pirate," he says finally in a much deeper voice than his normal tone, blushing furiously. "Even though you've got a defective eye-patch."

Harry just grins happily and Liam wants to press his lips against Harry's ridiculous dimples.

"It's pretty cold out here," Harry says, a little too innocently and Liam turns to give him a sharp look from under his hat. Since Liam's playing a role, pretend he's a stranger, he knows Harry's probably expecting him to cuddle up to him or perhaps offer his jacket, but that's probably taking it a step too far.

Harry solves Liam's moral dilemma but slipping his arms around Liam's waist and nuzzling close. "You don't mind do you?"

"No," Liam gasps as Harry locks his hands together. "No, I don't mind."

"Good," Harry says, snuggling closer. "You're all warm and toasty."

Liam just hums as he rests his head on Harry's, slipping his arms around Harry's taut body, wondering how he's managed to get this lucky and how long he can honestly pretend to not be Liam when at any moment, Louis, Niall or Zayn could step out here and break the spell. In all honesty, he thinks he could just about play it off as not realising that Harry didn't know it was him without revealing his appallingly outrageous crush on Harry, but they're quickly approaching a point where he won't be able to use it as a valid excuse.

Just for tonight though, after a lot of alcohol and a really long, lonely year of wanting Harry, he's just going to go with the flow and see what happens. Tonight, on Halloween night, he's feeling a little reckless and a little irresponsible and he really kind of likes it, loves the freedom.

"Maybe I should go climb a tree," Harry murmurs.

Liam starts. "Isn't it a bit dark?" he asked, confused as he tightens his arm to cuddle Harry closer, a bit worried about how much Harry's had to drink and whether he can prevent him from trying to climb a tree in the pitch black garden.

Harry laughs and it's one of those rumbling laughs that starts deep in his chest and just keeps growing. "I meant so you could come and rescue me. Show off those muscles."

Liam flushes bright red and he has to stop himself from inadvertently flexing to show off, because that's really not who he is, even though he kind of wishes it was, just this once. He really does want to show Harry who he really is, who he can really be instead of just Liam with his busy schedule and quiet nature and homework at the ready.

He feels Harry shivering next to him and he starts rubbing Harry's arm absently, enjoying the way Harry shifts a bit closer until he's plastered against Liam.

"This is nice," Harry murmurs and Liam silently agrees. He squeezes Harry's arm carefully but stays mute.

Liam's not sure how long they stay there out in the cold, but he really doesn't want to move and break whatever Halloween spell they're under. It's bittersweet, but Liam can't bring himself to leave. He wants to have this moment, this time together, even if it's all he'll ever have.

He doesn't realise a sigh has escaped his lips until he feels Harry stir next to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Just a bit cold," Liam lies. He has no idea if it's actually cold. All he knows, all he can think about, is that Harry is pressed up against him and it feels like heaven.

"In that case," Harry says quietly before Liam feels him move away and he pouts a little at the loss of contact, "let me warm you up."

Without warning, Liam finds Harry in his lap, straddling his thighs and he's being kissed by the boy of his dreams. Liam's hands lift to grip Harry's waist, partly for balance but mostly because he's afraid this is all a dream and the only way to hold on to reality is to keep hold of Harry's warm, solid body.

Harry's kiss is soft and tentative. Liam responds in kind, just pressing his lips against Harry's and barely moving for fear of scaring him away or ruining the moment, because he's kissing _Harry Styles_. When Harry's warm lips start to move against his, Liam remembers belatedly to open his mouth and then Harry's tongue is licking against his lips. Liam forgets to think at all. He brings Harry closer on his lap until he's flush against Liam and the kiss turns hard and deep as Liam's hat tips off his head and falls back against the bench. Liam's hands move until they're framing Harry's face, holding him in place while Liam explores the delicate contours of Harry's beautiful mouth. He can feel his heart rate speeding up. His tongue tangles with Harry's and he groans into Harry's mouth.

Liam feels Harry wriggle on his lap and he moans again as he feels himself getting hard. Harry's long legs are wrapped around his waist and Liam thinks he's fighting to get closer, but he's too busy kissing Harry, losing himself in Harry's scent and his heat, too lost in everything _Harry_ to care.

He can feel Harry's hands gripping his vest under his jacket as Liam shifts so that he can work his hands under Harry's ridiculous white, tight pirate shirt. When he finally feels heated skin, he's rewarded with a gasp from Harry's mouth and suddenly he's got a wriggling, overly-enthusiastic boy grinding into his lap, his clever hands sneaking under Liam's vest to smooth across Liam's back and Liam's pretty sure this is completely out of hand.

He reluctantly forces himself to soften the kiss, pressing soft, fleeting kisses against Harry's mouth and cheeks and jaw while he reaches back to grab his discarded hat, jamming it on so that his face is at least partially hidden from Harry.

When he finally finds the strength to move away, he presses one last lingering kiss against Harry's beautiful, red, bruised and swollen lips before he mumbles a quick apology and stands up, letting Harry's legs slide until he's standing up as well and Liam brushes past him and into the house, silently screaming at himself because if mooning over Harry from afar for a year wasn't bad enough, now he knows what Harry tastes like and feels like and knowing he'd never be that close to Harry again, life is going to be excruciating.

He finds a merry Zayn in the kitchen, where he'd left him, with Louis singing bad karaoke next to him and Niall cheering him on. Liam shoves the hat off and shrugs out of the jacket because he's too hot, too sensitive for the material against his sensitised skin, ignoring Niall's cheerleading and wolf-whistles as he folds his arms and tucks himself into Zayn's side, leaning against the counter.

"You okay?" Zayn asks, a little concerned as he lets his arm rest across Liam's shoulders.

"Yeah. I'm just the stupidest person on the whole planet," Liam mutters.

Zayn frowns as he glances outside where Liam had just in from. "You were just outside with Harry, yeah?"

Liam shrugs, closing his eyes and fighting the urge to just sink down onto the floor.

"Liam? What happened?"

"I might have kissed him," Liam finally says, peeking with one eye through his eyelashes to see Zayn's stunned reaction.

"And?" Zayn asks at length, keeping his voice low so they aren't overheard.

"He didn't know it was me," Liam sighs. Remembering the hot and heavy make-out session has him rubbing his arms carelessly. "Thought it was just some stranger."

Zayn gives him a considered look. "Are you sure?"

Liam nods and looks away, determined to not let his emotions get the better of him. It really was okay because he didn't think he'd ever kiss Harry, so it was like a gift, really. A Halloween present.

"Well, that's odd," Zayn says almost conversationally, interrupting Liam's thoughts. "Because he's been asking about you all week at school. And he actually shouted at Niall when he complained that he couldn't find you to copy the geography homework. Harry told Niall to do his own work for once."

Liam blinks slowly. "He did?"

Zayn hums quietly. "Funny, after you got all moody with him about not copying your work all the time, right?"

"That doesn't mean anything," Liam says, trying to prevent the small kernel of hope that tries to blossom in his chest. "Just that Harry was paying attention for once."

"Seems to me that Harry pays attention to everything you do," Zayn offers quietly, stroking Liam's arm gently, covering Liam's own hand comfortingly. "Seems to me that Harry only had one beer tonight before he went outside, and I definitely remember him asking me if you were okay because you looked sad sitting outside on your own."

Liam's heart stops for a beat before it starts racing.

"What?"

Zayn gives him a gentle shove. "You're an idiot. He knew it was you."

"He knew it was me," Liam says dazedly as his gaze shoots to the window. "The whole time."

"So ... how was the kiss?" Zayn asks as he watches Liam's face go a little blank and bewildered.

"Incredible," Liam manages to say before he pushes away from the kitchen counter and heads outside.

"Idiots," Zayn murmurs fondly as he watches Liam go through the kitchen door and grabs another beer before joining in off-key with Louis' terrible singing.

Liam stumbles out into the garden and sees Harry standing at the edge of where the light fades from the kitchen, gazing out into the darkness.

Harry glances towards him before shoving his hands in his pockets and resuming his focused stare.

"Hey," Liam says quietly, his nerves going haywire.

Harry doesn't say anything for so long that Liam thinks he hears his own heart break. He still can't quite comprehend what's happened tonight but he knows he's fucked up.

"What do you want, Liam?" Harry sounds pretty miserable and Liam wants to smack himself in the face.

Any hopes that Zayn had been teasing disappear as Liam turns to face Harry. "I didn't know," is his only defence.

"Didn't know what?" Harry asks and Liam can hear the note of sadness in his voice. "Didn't know that I liked you? Didn't know that I've spent months trying to get you to notice me? Didn't know how to let me down nicely so you thought you'd let me kiss you before walking away? Give me a taste of what I could have if only you actually wanted me? What, Liam? What didn't you know?"

Liam freezes because it's like Harry's pulling his own thoughts and fears out of his head and vocalising them. "What? Fuck, Harry, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Harry mumbles. "Please Liam, just leave me alone out here. I'll be fine, really. I just need a minute, yeah?"

"No," Liam's reaching out to spin Harry around, a little desperate, eyes wide. "Say all that again."

"Are you crazy?" Harry just stares at him. "I'm not repeating any of that. I just want to forget everything. I thought maybe tonight, with the costumes and hiding - oh never mind what I thought. I was obviously wrong."

"Harry," Liam pleads, lifting up to rip Harry's eye patch away so that he can see Harry's beautiful eyes. "I thought you didn't know who I was."

"What? Tonight?" Harry asks, his face screwing up into a frown.

"Yeah, I thought that you thought you were just kissing some stranger or something," Liam admits, reaching up to cup Harry's face with his hands, stroking Harry's cheeks with his thumbs. He's feeling brave, now. He's feeling freaking invincible.

"Why would I kiss a stranger when I just want to kiss you?" Harry asks, bemused as he gazes at Liam.

Liam laughs in relief. He's pretty sure his legs are about to give out but he has his hands on Harry and Harry wants him and that's pretty amazing.

"I just want to kiss you too," Liam admits. "I've wanted to kiss you for the last year."

"You have?" Harry asks, his face lighting up and Liam thinks he's dazzling.

He just nods as he leans forward, meeting Harry halfway as their lips touch. Harry lets out a little moan that drives Liam a little crazy, laughing as Harry fights to get even closer as Liam deepens the kiss and buries his hands in Harry's hair, tugging gently and trembling a little as Harry slides his leg between Liam's and they're grinding against each other as their tongues thrust together.

It's only when they vaguely become aware of wolf-whistles that they pull apart, arms and legs still entangled as they glance over to see Niall cheering, Louis whistling and Zayn raising his beer in a silent toast.

"It's the arms, right Harry?" Louis calls as Harry runs his hands up and down Liam's biceps and grins. "The whole fireman costume."

"It's the whole package Lou," Harry calls back before he grins at Liam, who flushes happily.

"Now get lost," Liam says over his shoulder as he turns his back and presses his lips against Harry's again, losing himself in Harry's lips and Harry's arms and Harry.

"I don't disapprove of the fireman outfit," Harry says with a cheeky grin as he lets his hand trail down Liam's chest.

"Happy fucking Halloween," Niall calls out before they hear them disappear inside.

"God I hope so," Harry mutters against Liam's mouth as they both grin at each other before they melt into another kiss.


End file.
